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Italian chef Luca Manfé will pair dishes such as this sous vide octopus with smoked potatoes and edamame with 8th Wonder Brewery's beers on Thursday at the Italian Cultural and Community Center. Photo by Luca Manfé

There was a time when an Italian beer dinner might have resorted to mass-produced Peroni, but the times are a-changin’. Craft beer is trending in Italy, just as it has been in the United States. Houston diners have a unique opportunity to find how native Italian chef Luca Manfé (season four winner of the MasterChef competition show) will pair his food with local beers from 8th Wonder Brewery. The “Birra Night” dinner is at the Italian Cultural and Community Center (ICCC) at 1101 Milford this Thursday, February 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.

Chef Luca Manfé Photo courtesy of Craftsy

Manfé is keeping much of the menu a surprise, but here are two teasers. For the first course, he’s pairing sous vide octopus, edamame purée, smoked confit potatoes and dehydrated black olives with 8th Wonder’s “witty blonde,” Intellectuale. The beer sports notes of mild banana and fruit esters, which are aromas and flavors derived from the yeast. The brewery’s slightly bitter and floral IPA, Hopston, sets off an entrée course of braised chicken with cheddar beer sauce, fig jam and pickled red onions on pretzel bread.

Tickets are available online and cost $65 plus a $4.24 Eventbrite fee. ICCC members get $5 off. As of this writing, Manfé says there are less than 10 tickets available now, so interested diners should hurry to get theirs.